The present application is a Continuation-In-Part of and claims priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/816,768 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,586,941, filed Mar. 23, 2001, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/192,222, filed Mar. 27, 2000, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to battery testers of the type used to test storage batteries. More specifically, the present invention relates to a modular battery tester capable of interfacing with other types of test equipment.
Various types of battery testers are known in the art. One type of battery tester is based upon the measurement of a dynamic parameter, such as dynamic conductance. Examples of various battery testers and monitors are forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,911, issued Mar. 25, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,708, issued Sep. 30, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,768, issued Mar. 28, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,170, issued Apr. 25, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,038, issued Nov. 14, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING TO DETERMINE DYNAMIC CONDUCTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,416, issued Mar. 27, 1990, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH STATE-OF-CHARGE COMPENSATION; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,269, issued Aug. 18, 1992, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC TESTER FOR ASSESSING BATTERY/CELL CAPACITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,380, issued Aug. 30, 1994, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPRESSING TIME VARYING SIGNALS IN BATTERIES UNDERGOING CHARGING OR DISCHARGING; U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,136, issued Nov. 5, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,355, issued Nov. 12, 1996, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTION AND CONTROL OF THERMAL RUNAWAY IN A BATTERY UNDER CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,416, issued Dec. 10, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,728, issued Dec. 17, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,757, issued Dec. 31, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,093, issued Jan. 7, 1997, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE LOOSE TERMINAL CONNECTION DETECTION VIA A COMPARISON CIRCUIT; U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,098, issued Jan. 28, 1997, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH VERY HIGH NOISE IMMUNITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,920, issued Aug. 12, 1997, entitled METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING THE CHARGING LEAD-ACID BATTERIES AND AN INTERACTIVE CHARGER; U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,192, issued May 26, 1998, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING A BAD CELL IN A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,756, issued Oct. 13, 1998, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH TAILORED COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,435, issued Nov. 3, 1998, entitled BATTERY TESTER FOR JIS STANDARD; U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,605, issued Jun. 22, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,829, issued Aug. 31, 1999, entitled MIDPOINT BATTERY MONITORING; U.S. Pat. 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No. 6,163,156, issued Dec. 19, 2000, entitled ELECTRICAL CONNECTION FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,483, issued Jan. 9, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX IMPEDANCE OF CELL AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,505, issued Jan. 9, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,369, issued Apr. 24, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,808, issued May 1, 2001, entitled TEST COUNTER FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,124, issued Jun. 19, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH INTERNAL BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,259,254, issued Jul. 10, 2001, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS ON BATTERIES AND FOR RAPIDLY CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,563, issued Jul. 17, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX ADMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,896, issued Sep. 25, 2001; entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX SELF-IMMITANCE OF A GENERAL ELECTRICAL ELEMENT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,897, issued Sep. 25, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONICALLY EVALUATING THE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,087, issued Oct. 16, 2001, entitled APPARATUS FOR CALIBRATING ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,481, issued Oct. 30, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,607, issued Nov. 6, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING STORED CHARGE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,608, issued Nov. 6, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,914, issued Nov. 13, 2001, entitled TESTING PARALLEL STRINGS OF STORAGE BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,650, issued Nov. 27, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,793, issued Dec. 11, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,762, issued Dec. 18, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,113, issued Dec. 18, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,102, issued Feb. 26, 2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,441, issued Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,303, issued Mar. 26, 2002, entitled ALTERNATOR DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM, U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,414, issued May 21, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,669, issued Jul. 9, 2002, entitled SUPPRESSING INTERFERENCE IN AC MEASUREMENTS OF CELLS, BATTERIES AND OTHER ELECTRICAL ELEMENTS; U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,158, issued Jul. 23, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS ON BATTERIES AND FOR RAPIDLY CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,585, issued Aug. 17, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TESTING RECHARGEABLE ENERGY STORAGE BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,158, issued Sep. 3, 2002, entitled VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TESTER WITH ENCODED OUTPUT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,045, issued Sep. 24, 2002, entitled INTEGRATED CONDUCTANCE AND LOAD TEST BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,025, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitled ALTERNATOR TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,026, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 09/703,270, filed Oct. 31, 2000, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/780,146, filed Feb. 9, 2001, entitled STORAGE BATTERY WITH INTEGRAL BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/816,768, filed Mar. 23, 2001, entitled MODULAR BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/756,638, filed Jan. 8, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/862,783, filed May 21, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 09/960,117, filed Sep. 20, 2001, entitled IN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/908,389, filed Jul. 18, 2001, entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SENSOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/908,278, filed Jul. 18, 2001, entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH EMBEDDED ENVIRONMENT SENSOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/880,473, filed Jun. 13, 2001; entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/940,684, filed Aug. 27, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING STORED CHARGE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/330,441, filed Oct. 17, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/348,479, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled CONCEPT FOR TESTING HIGH POWER VRLA BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/046,659, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/993,468, filed Nov. 14, 2001, entitled KELVIN CONNECTOR FOR A BATTERY POST; U.S. Ser. No. 09/992,350, filed Nov. 26, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/341,902, filed Dec. 19, 2001, entitled BATTERY TESTER MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/042,451, filed Jan. 8, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/073,378, filed Feb. 8, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS USING A CIRCUIT MODEL TO EVALUATE CELL/BATTERY PARAMETERS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/093,853, filed Mar. 7, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH NETWORK COMMUNICATION; U.S. Ser. No. 60/364,656, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH LOW TEMPERATURE RATING DETERMINATION; U.S. Ser. No. 10/098,741, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Ser. No. 10/101,543, filed Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,114, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/109,734, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,105, filed Mar. 28, 2002, entitled CHARGE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,998, filed Mar. 29, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY REPLACEMENT OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/119,297, filed Apr. 9, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/128,790, filed Apr. 22, 2002, entitled METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING JUMP-START BOOSTER PACKS; U.S. Ser. No. 60/379,281, filed May 8, 2002, entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/143,307, filed May 10, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 60/387,046, filed Jun. 7, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INCREASING THE LIFE OF A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/177,635, filed Jun. 21, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGER WITH BOOSTER PACK; U.S. Ser. No. 10/207,495, filed Jul. 29, 2002, entitled KELVIN CLAMP FOR ELECTRICALLY COUPLING TO A BATTERY CONTACT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/200,041, filed Jul. 19, 2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/217,913, filed Aug. 13, 2002, entitled, BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 60/408,542, filed Sep. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST OUTPUTS ADJUSTED BASED UPON TEMPERATURE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/246,439, filed Sep. 18, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER UPGRADE USING SOFTWARE KEY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,399, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; and U.S. Ser. No. 10/263,473, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,796, filed Oct. 3, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/271,342, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled IN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 10/270,777, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,515, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,490, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,385, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,255, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled REMAINING TIME PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,224, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled DISCHARGE VOLTAGE PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 10/349,053, filed Jan. 22, 2003, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROTECTING A BATTERY FROM OVERDISCHARGE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/388,855, filed Mar. 14, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY FAILURE TEMPERATURE DETERMINATION, U.S. Ser. No. 10/396,550, filed Mar. 25, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/467,872, filed May 5, 2003, entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE, which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
In general, battery testing techniques have used a single, integrated stand-alone unit.